Kansas State extends Brad Hill through 2018

FROM CBD NEWS SOURCEMANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head baseball coach Brad Hill has agreed to a new five-year contract, locking in the two-time Big 12 Coach of the Year through the 2018 season, Director of Athletics John Currie announced Tuesday.

The agreement is retroactive to June 15, 2013, and extends through June 14, 2018. It replaces the five-year contract that Hill signed following the 2010 season. Hill’s base salary will increase from the $220,000 that he was scheduled to earn in the 2013-14 contract year to $265,000.

“It is an exciting time for K-State Baseball,” Currie said. “Under Coach Hill’s leadership, our program has continued to develop as evidenced by our first conference championship in 80 years and hosting and winning the school’s first-ever NCAA Regional at Tointon Family Stadium. The persistent success of our program is a testament to our staff and the tremendous student-athletes that are committed to championship performances both athletically and academically.”

The contract calls for an average annual compensation of $292,000 over the five years and also includes retention incentives of $125,000 should Hill remain as coach through the 2015 season and $150,000 should he stay at K-State through the life of the agreement. Totaling the base salary and two retention incentives, Hill is guaranteed $1.735 million over the next five years.

Hill can also earn an additional 4- to 32-percent of his base salary contingent on annual performance incentives, including appearances in the Big 12 Championship and NCAA Tournament, as well as winning regular-season and postseason championships, and individual coaching awards.

The new contract rewards Hill after completing the most successful season in school history as the Wildcats won a school-record 45 games and captured the program’s first regular-season conference championship in 80 years. K-State made the biggest jump by a regular-season champion in league history as the Cats were predicted to finish seventh in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches’ Poll.

K-State was selected to host a NCAA Regional for the first time in program history and used the home-field advantage to go 3-0 with victories over in-state rival Wichita State, No. 30 Bryant and No. 12 Arkansas to advance to its first Super Regional. Paired against No. 3 Oregon State in Corvallis, Ore., the Wildcats lost the finale of the three-game series, 4-3, to finish the season one victory shy of earning a trip to the College World Series.

“The support we have received at K-State since the day my family and I arrived has been second to none, including the last few years under John Currie,” Hill said. “The rise of the program is centered on the players and coaching staff, both current and former, that have dedicated themselves to K-State Baseball. I am also thankful for the contributions of those who laid the groundwork for this program to be successful, especially Mike Clark’s hard work during his 17-year tenure, as well as Bob and Betty Tointon and John Allen.

“Our continued success is also due in large part to the enthusiasm the Manhattan and K-State communities bring to Tointon Family Stadium,” Hill continued. “Last season’s Big 12 Championship and 3-0 record in the NCAA Regional were directly tied to the home-field advantage our fans created. We are excited to build upon last year’s accomplishments with the overriding goal of reaching the College World Series, while we continue to support the vision of Kansas State under the leadership of President Schulz and Mr. Currie.”

The 2013 season was the next step in the successful development of the baseball program during Hill’s 10-year leadership. Since 2009, the Wildcats have finished in the top four of the Big 12 standings three times and made its only four NCAA tournament appearances in that span. A native of Galva, Kan., Hill has accumulated the second-most wins in school history and enters his 11th season with a 338-243-3 (.581) record, including a 188-115-1 (.620) mark over the last five years.

A keen eye for talent, Hill has recruited and developed 57 players that have been drafted since 2005, including 27 who were undrafted out of high school. This season, Hill tutored his fifth top-five round draft pick in Jared King to double the school’s total from the previous 43 years.

The 2009 and 2013 Big 12 Coach of the Year, Hill has guided four players to the conference’s highest honor as A.J. Morris was the 2009 Pitcher of the Year, Nick Martini (2010) and Ross Kivett (2013) were named Players of the Year, and Jake Matthys was tabbed Freshman of the Year in 2013.

Academically under Hill’s guidance, the Wildcats have produced 53 Academic All-Big 12 selections as well as seven academic all-district honorees and two academic All-Americans. In addition, K-State’s Academic Progress Rate (APR) has steady improved to reflect an outstanding four-year average of .954.

Hill was named the 20th head baseball coach in Kansas State history on June 3, 2003, after an ultra-successful nine-year stint as the head coach at Central Missouri State (now the University of Central Missouri) as he left CMSU as the winningest active coach in Division II that included a National Championship in 2003. Coupled with his 418-91 mark at CMSU, Hill’s career record at four-year institutions stands at 756-334-3 (.693) to rank seventh nationally among active coaches.

Brian Foley is the founder and Lead Editor of College Baseball Daily since its inception in 2005.

He has covered two CWS, multiple NCAA Baseball Regionals, and other special events across the country. In addition to his duties with College Baseball Daily, he has covered games for Inside Lacrosse and been featured in USA Today, Wall Street Journal among other publications.

He can be contacted by email at editor at collegebaseballdaily.com and followed on Twitter @BFoley82.